Smile at Strangers

I've been reading the book Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and its all small stuff.

I liked this particular chapter because I can relate to it a bit in my life.

25.  Smile at Strangers, Look into Their Eyes, and Say Hello

Have you ever noticed or thought about how little eye contact most of us have with strangers?  Why?  Are we afraid of them?  What keeps us from opening our hearts to people we don't know?

I don't really know the answers to these questions, but I do know that there is virtually always a parallel between our attitude towards strangers and our overall level of happiness.  In other words, it's unusual to find a person who walks around with her head down, frowning and looking away from people, who is secretly a peaceful, joyful person.

I'm not suggesting it's better to be outgoing than introverted, that you need to expend tons of extra energy trying to brighten others' days, or that you should preted to be friendly.  I am suggesting, however, that if you think of strangers as being a little more like you and treat them not only with kindness and respect but with smiles and eye contact as well, you'll probably notice some pretty nice changes in yourself.  You'll begin to see that most people are like you--most of them have families, people they love, troubles, concerns, likes, dislikes, fears and so forth.  You'll also notice how nice and grateful people can be when you're the first one to reach out.  When you see how similar we all are, you begin to see the innocence in all of us.  In other words, even though we often mess up, most of us are doing the best that we know how with the circumstances that surround us.  Along with seeing the innocence in people come a profound feeling of inner happiness.

Love how short the chapters are!

I say I can relate because I remember walking around in a fog after Ethan died.  Each person I ran into I would think, "They have no idea that my son died yesterday or two days ago (or whatever day it was)"  I wanted to tell everyone so everyone would be extra nice to me because I needed it.

I have tried since to be kind to everyone I see.  I try not to get irritated with the strangers around me, but try to put on a smile.  This is a bit harder for me because I get a little shy in the "smiling at strangers", but as I have put the effort out there, I have been happier.